Horse Fair (by Rosa Bonheur) Playing Cards

This design features a painting by Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899), who was a French artist best known as a painter of animals. It depicts dealers selling horses at the traditional horse market that was held on the Boulevard de l'Hôpital in Paris, France. The horses are being ridden to the market by the traders; it is a vigourous, lively and energetic scene, because the dynamism of the animals' movement is captured so perfectly. One of the horses is rearing up on its hind legs. There are horses with coats in every colour from dark browns to whites and greys. The original artwork was first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1853, and it is now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.